Indiana University Athletics
Macciocchi, Richardson Flourishing for Hoosiers
5/23/2021 10:44:00 AM | Baseball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Of course there's a back story to Grant Macciocchi's relief pitching rise from infielder anonymity.
The Indiana senior righthander didn't just emerge out of nowhere, like a fictional Roy Hobbs come to life, to shut down Big Ten offenses without 100 mph stuff.
Still, you see what he has done, highlighted by Friday night's four-inning, two-hit, six-strikeout and no-runs-allowed relief stint against Nebraska, and you wonder, where did this come from?
Hold that thought.
Of course center fielder Grant Richardson continues to play at an All-America clip -- he punished the Cornhuskers Friday night with his second triple and sixth home run for two runs batted in, then added a single and a solo homer on Saturday night, as he has basically everyone all season. It is the result of far more complexity than see the ball, hit the ball.
We'll get to that.
Let's start with Macciocchi, who spent the first part of his IU career after transferring from Kentucky as an infielder.
He was far more than that, and coach Jeff Mercer and his staff knew it, even if conference opponents didn't.
"We always had great belief in his ability to pitch," Mercer says.
Belief came from Macciocchi's background.
He was once a junior college All-American good enough to go 7-0 with a 2.30 earned run average with 52 strikeouts in 58.2 innings, plus hit .393 with four home runs and 50 runs batted in at Murray State College.
He spent a season at Kentucky, going 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA with 30 strikeouts against eight walks. He hit .237 in 17 games.
He also played briefly at Missouri (1-0, 4.35 ERA) as a freshman, which followed a state-title-winning senior season at Cincinnati's Moeller High School in 2015. He was 10-0 with a 0.97 earned run average. He also hit .406. and was named Ohio Player of the Year. During his high school career, he only allowed nine earned runs.
If you want to go back father, his father, Vince, played basketball at Eastern Illinois. An older brother, Bradley, played baseball at Wright State.
All that set the stage for last year. Macciocchi arrived just as the Hoosiers found themselves in need of infielder depth. He'd always had the versatility to play multiple positions, and you can never have enough of those, especially if you aim to contend for a Big Ten title, as IU does.
"He came here as a primary pitcher and we didn't have depth in the middle of the infield," Mercer says. "He ended up finding his way into the lineup last year at second base. He played some shortstop earlier."
He's done that well enough to hit .241 with a pair of home runs.
As the Hoosiers' infield depth improved, Mercer says, "We said, let's get Grant out there and use him more as a relief guy."
And so they have, and it was instant success.
In his first relief appearance, against Minnesota, he allowed no runs or hits while striking out three in 2.1 innings.
Overall, in 11 innings he's allowed five hits, struck out 13 and given up zero runs.
"He's an incredible competitor," Mercer says. A great kid. Look at the way he manages the run game. He's been great and we thought he would be."
For those who equate better play with better weather, Mercer adds, "As the weather has warmed up, (Macciocchi has) has felt better. The velocity is really good, 89 to 91 mph. His changeup is good. His slider is good. He's been huge, great for us.
"Coming into the season, his velocity was 85 to 87. We know he's been higher than that. As it's warmed up, the velo has spiked."
Beyond that, "Nobody has a scouting report on him. He's been a shot in the arm out of the pen.
"We'll continue to go to him."
Macciocchi's strong relief performance on Friday night was duplicated on Saturday by John Modugno and Connor Manous. In a combined three innings, they allowed no hits or runs, and struck out six.
"The pen gave us a chance," Mercer says. "They did everything they could to give the offense time to adjust."
As for Richardson, be began as a preseason All-America, and has done nothing to refute that. He leads IU in hitting (.322) and stolen bases (10). He has seven homers and 31 RBI.
He's also been perfect in the field with two assists and no errors.
Richardson has picked up the offensive pace recently, including his four hits and two homers against Nebraska. That's the result, Mercer says of a lot of work.
"We've talked a lot with Grant. He's gone through some swing stuff. He was over-striding. He's worked hard on shortening his stride."
That's especially true as a left-handed hitter facing a left-handed pitcher. That happened Friday night when he faced Nebraska left-handed ace Cade Povich.
"When (a left-handed hitter) faces lefties," Mercer says, "you get the inverse of what you want -- which is (attack) the bottom of fastballs, and the top of breaking balls.
"The big thing for him is to get on top of a fastball and get his eyes on the bottom of a breaking ball. Preferably against a lefty, the inside bottom of a breaking ball.
"He's spent a lot of time on it, a lot of time on the spin-ball machine, a lot of time in the cages, working and working to get his eyes flipped to (go after the top) of a fastball and get to the bottom of a breaking ball.
"He's done a nice job. He's grown through it. It's great to see his progression against one of, if not the best arm in the league (Povich)."
Richardson has thrived from the moment he arrived at IU after a standout high school career at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger and Fishers (he went 5-0 as a senior to help Fisher with the 2018 state title).
He was a freshman All-America after hitting .264 with nine homers and 37 RBI. Last season he led IU with a .424 average, five home runs and 17 runs batted in over 14 games.
Richardson's production couldn't deliver victories against Nebraska at Bart Kaufman Field. The Hoosiers lost 3-1 on Saturday night and 8-5 on Friday night.
Despite the tough stretch, IU still has a shot to earn an at-large NCAA tourney bid. They host Ohio State on Sunday and Monday before ending the regular season next weekend with a three-game series at Maryland.
"We still have more work to do," Mercer says. "We've had some good wins. At times, we have struggled. We have to make sure we take care of our business over the last five games.
"We have to keep going, persevere and find a way to put it all together. We haven't done it as of late."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Of course there's a back story to Grant Macciocchi's relief pitching rise from infielder anonymity.
The Indiana senior righthander didn't just emerge out of nowhere, like a fictional Roy Hobbs come to life, to shut down Big Ten offenses without 100 mph stuff.
Still, you see what he has done, highlighted by Friday night's four-inning, two-hit, six-strikeout and no-runs-allowed relief stint against Nebraska, and you wonder, where did this come from?
Hold that thought.
Of course center fielder Grant Richardson continues to play at an All-America clip -- he punished the Cornhuskers Friday night with his second triple and sixth home run for two runs batted in, then added a single and a solo homer on Saturday night, as he has basically everyone all season. It is the result of far more complexity than see the ball, hit the ball.
We'll get to that.
Let's start with Macciocchi, who spent the first part of his IU career after transferring from Kentucky as an infielder.
He was far more than that, and coach Jeff Mercer and his staff knew it, even if conference opponents didn't.
"We always had great belief in his ability to pitch," Mercer says.
Belief came from Macciocchi's background.
He was once a junior college All-American good enough to go 7-0 with a 2.30 earned run average with 52 strikeouts in 58.2 innings, plus hit .393 with four home runs and 50 runs batted in at Murray State College.
He spent a season at Kentucky, going 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA with 30 strikeouts against eight walks. He hit .237 in 17 games.
He also played briefly at Missouri (1-0, 4.35 ERA) as a freshman, which followed a state-title-winning senior season at Cincinnati's Moeller High School in 2015. He was 10-0 with a 0.97 earned run average. He also hit .406. and was named Ohio Player of the Year. During his high school career, he only allowed nine earned runs.
If you want to go back father, his father, Vince, played basketball at Eastern Illinois. An older brother, Bradley, played baseball at Wright State.
All that set the stage for last year. Macciocchi arrived just as the Hoosiers found themselves in need of infielder depth. He'd always had the versatility to play multiple positions, and you can never have enough of those, especially if you aim to contend for a Big Ten title, as IU does.
"He came here as a primary pitcher and we didn't have depth in the middle of the infield," Mercer says. "He ended up finding his way into the lineup last year at second base. He played some shortstop earlier."
He's done that well enough to hit .241 with a pair of home runs.
As the Hoosiers' infield depth improved, Mercer says, "We said, let's get Grant out there and use him more as a relief guy."
And so they have, and it was instant success.
In his first relief appearance, against Minnesota, he allowed no runs or hits while striking out three in 2.1 innings.
Overall, in 11 innings he's allowed five hits, struck out 13 and given up zero runs.
"He's an incredible competitor," Mercer says. A great kid. Look at the way he manages the run game. He's been great and we thought he would be."
For those who equate better play with better weather, Mercer adds, "As the weather has warmed up, (Macciocchi has) has felt better. The velocity is really good, 89 to 91 mph. His changeup is good. His slider is good. He's been huge, great for us.
"Coming into the season, his velocity was 85 to 87. We know he's been higher than that. As it's warmed up, the velo has spiked."
Beyond that, "Nobody has a scouting report on him. He's been a shot in the arm out of the pen.
"We'll continue to go to him."
Macciocchi's strong relief performance on Friday night was duplicated on Saturday by John Modugno and Connor Manous. In a combined three innings, they allowed no hits or runs, and struck out six.
"The pen gave us a chance," Mercer says. "They did everything they could to give the offense time to adjust."
As for Richardson, be began as a preseason All-America, and has done nothing to refute that. He leads IU in hitting (.322) and stolen bases (10). He has seven homers and 31 RBI.
He's also been perfect in the field with two assists and no errors.
Richardson has picked up the offensive pace recently, including his four hits and two homers against Nebraska. That's the result, Mercer says of a lot of work.
"We've talked a lot with Grant. He's gone through some swing stuff. He was over-striding. He's worked hard on shortening his stride."
That's especially true as a left-handed hitter facing a left-handed pitcher. That happened Friday night when he faced Nebraska left-handed ace Cade Povich.
"When (a left-handed hitter) faces lefties," Mercer says, "you get the inverse of what you want -- which is (attack) the bottom of fastballs, and the top of breaking balls.
"The big thing for him is to get on top of a fastball and get his eyes on the bottom of a breaking ball. Preferably against a lefty, the inside bottom of a breaking ball.
"He's spent a lot of time on it, a lot of time on the spin-ball machine, a lot of time in the cages, working and working to get his eyes flipped to (go after the top) of a fastball and get to the bottom of a breaking ball.
"He's done a nice job. He's grown through it. It's great to see his progression against one of, if not the best arm in the league (Povich)."
Richardson has thrived from the moment he arrived at IU after a standout high school career at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger and Fishers (he went 5-0 as a senior to help Fisher with the 2018 state title).
He was a freshman All-America after hitting .264 with nine homers and 37 RBI. Last season he led IU with a .424 average, five home runs and 17 runs batted in over 14 games.
Richardson's production couldn't deliver victories against Nebraska at Bart Kaufman Field. The Hoosiers lost 3-1 on Saturday night and 8-5 on Friday night.
Despite the tough stretch, IU still has a shot to earn an at-large NCAA tourney bid. They host Ohio State on Sunday and Monday before ending the regular season next weekend with a three-game series at Maryland.
"We still have more work to do," Mercer says. "We've had some good wins. At times, we have struggled. We have to make sure we take care of our business over the last five games.
"We have to keep going, persevere and find a way to put it all together. We haven't done it as of late."
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